As a Hoboken resident for over a decade, I want to express my disappointment that the bond ordinance for design work for crucial Hoboken roadways was recently voted down by the City Council. Engineering and design plans for completing the central waterfront between Sinatra Drive from 4th to 11th Streets, converting Observer Highway into a more pedestrian-friendly Observer Boulevard and bringing Washington Street up to modern MUTCD (Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices) standards would be a great investment into Hoboken’s future.

While I feel that bonding for such things as plugging budget deficits is not a prudent use of our city’s finite resources, bonding for infrastructure improvements is clearly an investment. And in this climate of record low interest rates, this is undoubtedly the best time to do so. These "shovel-ready" projects would allow Hoboken to apply for grants and other revenue sources from various agencies and jurisdictions. I know this from personal experience as a Senior Transportation Engineer for the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. The NJMC leveraged $2.5 million collected from traffic impact fees to obtain a $10 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration. If we had not first had a plan and funding in place, our $12.5 million project would have never seen the light of day. I hope the "no" voters on the City Council can come to appreciate this and understand the importance these issues will have on the future of our city.

Sincerely,Brad Miller, P.E., P.P., LEED AP BD C Board Member of the Fund for a Better Waterfront Board Member of the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition